LAS VEGAS: we love the glitz, the girls, the lights, the action, the high rollers and the seedy underbelly. Which is probably why millions of us tune into the smash hit TV programme CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.

For those who don't, the Channel 5 show follows members of an unusually good-looking police unit in Vegas. Using physical evidence from crime scenes they solve grisly murders - all in under an hour - usually with a personal crisis thrown in for good measure.

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After a recent trip to Las Vegas, I have picked up a new skill: how to carry out the perfect murder.

Tourists can immerse themselves in the world of Nevada's crime scene investigation unit during a four-day Road Scholar CSI Las Vegas course, which is organised in association with the city's university.

I met my fellow students, mostly mature Americans with a penchant for detective novels.

After a breakfast of pancakes, syrup and eggs sunny-side-up, it was an early start at the optimistically named Paradise campus.

The course was a mix of lectures and trips beyond the slot machines of The Strip (as Las Vegas Boulevard is known) to a side of the city most visitors never see.

We chatted to officer Lauren Marakas from the Las Vegas Police Department's K-9 unit and patted her dog, Ruthie.

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We also had a talk on dental forensics by a retired FBI agent, went to the rather creepy BODIES. . . The Exhibition at the Luxor Hotel and Casino, and attended a talk on methods of forensic anthropology which was far less dry than it sounds.

We were also given a lesson in fingerprinting and DNA-matching techniques by Tracy Welch at Henderson police department, a science that has come on in such leaps and bounds in recent years that the authorities can now get DNA from a bottle that has only been casually picked up.

After a hard day's crime solving, I retired to my hotel, honed my roulette techniques and attended classes on blackjack and poker.

(The fact that I'm writing this story, rather then reclining on my yacht in Tahiti, tells you how well I did. ) Most of my fellow students were staying at the functional Marriott Residence Inn but I was at the swanky new Aria Resort & Casino, which opened last year.

Part of a new complex of hotels between The Strip and Frank Sinatra Boulevard, it also includes the Mandarin Oriental and Vdara Hotel & Spa.

Unlike some of the older properties in Vegas, the Aria has no jokey theme and, although you still get the slot machines and gaming tables, it's a classy place with an airy lobby and 17 dining outlets (I recommend the huge $16 breakfast buffet), nine bars and nightclubs, as well as its own theatre where Cirque du Soleil presents an all-singing, all-acrobatic tribute to Elvis.

There are also 40 floors of bedrooms, ranging from large to enormous, decorated in contemporary style and complete with a host of gadgets, all operated by a single remote.

It was difficult to leave it, but I had more crime-solving techniques to learn.

The course's most fascinating talk on the myths and realities of crime scene investigating was given by veteran Mark McNett, who has been with the Las Vegas Police Department for 22 years, half of which was spent in the homicide division.

While Mark's lecture was about his time in the LVPD, it did rather present itself as a manual on how to successfully do away with your nearest and dearest.

"Is there such a thing as the perfect murder?" I asked. I'd love to tell you the response but quite frankly I'd have to kill you afterwards. All I'm saying is if you ever come round to my place for dinner, think twice before tucking into the mushroom omelette.

If you do think you could get away with committing the perfect crime, the likes of Mark will usually be several steps ahead.

He told us about bloodstain patterns and things such as "dynamic cast off" - the way blood drips when a knife is pulled out of a body. All sound a bit creepy? Well, it just goes to prove there's a holiday out there for almost every type and not all of us want to lie on a sun lounger with the latest John Grisham novel and a piña colada.

It was a fascinating few days and all set against the glamorous background of Sin City.

Unfortunately I didn't have enough time to win my fortune, but it did go to prove the ideal holiday needn't be murder.

THE KNOWLEDGE:
Bon Voyage (0800 316 0194/ www.bonvoyage.co.uk/spotlights) offers a four-day Road Scholar CSI Las Vegas course from £545pp staying at the Gold Coast Hotel & Casino.
BA (0844 493 0758/www.ba.com/lasvegas) offers seven nights at the Aria Resort & Casino from £1,099pp, two sharing, room only. Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority:
0207 367 0979/ www.visitlasvegas.co.uk